The population of Longhorsley Parish is approximately 800, measured at the 2011 UK census as 887, and is essentially a residential community for those who work in South Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

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From 1865 until 1955 the village area was arranged as three separate townships: Bigges Quarter, Freeholders Quarter and Riddells Quarter plus the extra parochial tract of Horsley Moor. Each of these is described below. Up until 1865 the townships were part of a larger ancient parish of Long Horsley, also described below. The other townships of the ancient parish are considered as separate places. From 1894 until 1955 it was part of Morpeth Rural District. The modern civil parish of Longhorsley was formed from the whole area in 1955. (Note that the official name for the ancient parish was Long Horsley, while the modern civil parish is Longhorsley. The two spellings and the two time frames are considered to be describing the same place in WeRelate.)

From 1955 Longhorsley was part of Morpeth Rural District. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and it became part of the Castle Morpeth District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority. The original Long Horsley was linked to Bothal before it received ancient parish status but its own records go back to th 18th century.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Long Horsley from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HORSLEY (LONG), a village in Morpeth [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Rothbury [registration] district, Northumberland. The village stands on a branch of the river Coquet, 4¾ miles W by S of Widdrington [railway] station, and 6 NW by N of Morpeth; and has a post office under Morpeth.

"The parish comprises the townships of Witton Shields, Stanton, Longshaws, Bigges Quarter, Riddells Quarter, Freeholders Quarter, Todburn, and Wingates. Acres: 12,849. Real property: £7,463; of which £38 are in mines. Population: 964. Houses: 201. The manor belonged to Gospatrick, passed to the Merlays, and belongs now to Thomas Riddell and Henry J. Baker, Esqs. An old tower of the Riddells stands at the W end of the parish, and is used as a Roman Catholic chapel. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £336. Patron: the Lord Chancellor. The church is modern, and has a bell turret. There is a national school."

Other townships in parish

Research Tips

Northumberland Archives previously known as Northumberland Collections Service and Northumberland County Record Office. Now based within Woodhorn Museum in Ashington and providing free access to numerous records for local and family historians alike.

Northumberland and Durham FHS covers both Northumberland and County Durham. The Family History Society have a research centre in Percy House in central Newcastle upon Tyne (full address on website), open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.